Joe Louis, did America let him down?

I don't know what he did that a government should forgive his ignorance of taxes........they wouldn't have forgiven anyone else for such a transgression, nor would anyone have questioned if it was right or not.

I feel bad for him, and Louis is one of my favorite fighters, but how far should one carry hero-worship? He made bad decisions, and felt the after-effects. It happens.

 

It was a very unfortunate turn of events considering all the charity work among other things that Louis did to serve his country, but he should have been more careful with his money. The Braddock fight deal for example was very foolish on his part although you have to take into account that a coloured man in those times couldn't expect to get a fair deal fighting for the title. Archie Moore fought Joey Maxim for very little money. They were pretty much willing to fight for free if it was for the title. As a result Braddock made money from each of Louis's subsequent title defenses which on hindsight was genius on the part of Braddock's manager.

 

There does seem to be some injustice when you factor in the fact that Joe Louis was paying taxes and fought for a country in which he could not urinate or drink from a fountain in a white only facility. He was also born into a country where it was not acceptable for him to smile after defeating a white man, or walk down the street and make eye contact with a white human being, or be in a relationship with a white woman if he so desired. He was born into a country that would never allow him to have any level of success in any other industry other than one that would require him beating or getting his face beat in and for a very minimal wage for what he did and the revenue he generated. He was born into a country that would never allow him to receive an education and everything in life went against him.

All simply because he was black. Now I can see the other side of the coin in that he was also born into a country where he was able to have some level of success, and for a black, it was a high level of success and adoration. It still doesn't change the fact that when it came to paying out and giving what is due in all aspects of life, Joe was short changed in every possible way, yet when it came to paying taxes and risking payment of his life in the war, they took full advantage. Only then was he treated like a human being on the same level as other human beings.

That is why there are things like restitution and affirmative action in the American job market today because they are not giving a handout or gift, but righting a wrong and trying to provide justice for years of injustice.

Did America let him down? I think so. Not to mention he was probably robbed blind in a lot of ways by everybody around him.

 

Affirmitive action is nothing more than reverse discrimination,couched in clever language...

 

How did America let him down? He had the opportunity to earn far more than the average american during the great depression, he did, and through his own poor decisions he ended up broke. This is a tale we see constantly in rags to riches athletes and yet somehow because Louis worked for the war effort he is held of as an example of injustice. I dont really get it.

 

However you slice it, charging him tax on money that he donated to the war effort is somewhat unreasonable. The problem could have been avoided if the purses from the two releif fund fights had been donated directly to the releif fund without nominaly passing through his hands.

Certainly he was the victim of poor financial advice, but the government departments accepting the money have some duty of care to those donating it. They should have given him the appropriate advice before accepting the money.

 

What I'm getting out of this is that the U.S. government should have forgiven his tax debt because he was born into discriminatory circumstances.

Well, where does THAT end?

In the end, I think the government was owed the taxes Joe should have known he owed. If he didn't know, that's on him. They did forgive his debt later on, which was more than they've done for many. Some might argue he got off lucky.

 

Now this I can agree with. To be hounded for taxes accrued in benefit work is just shitty, and should have immediately been stricken from the books.

 

As a huge fan, yes they ****ed him over. But he also ****ed himself harder. Horrible with his money. He should have been fine for years if he had managed himself better.

 

Please explain.

 

it long ago outlived its usefulness or appropriateness. It is not only reverse racism. It suggests certain people need "a head start" in order to compete which, in this case, is racism.

To Louis, one would hope that with all the criminals receiving pardons and corporations making out like bandits during the war that a man who donated so much to the effort against the Axis would get similar treatment.

 

The ripple effect of 300 years of racism and discrimination in the United States can be seen in ghetto's all over the country. They are predominately black, poor, and education is poor with low rates of graduation. To imply that this is not a result of years of racism and discrimination is implying that there is something in the DNA of a black person that is different from all other human's that results in this lifestyle.

There are some facts that people tend to overlook when talking about affirmative action or other programs designed to help underprivileged get their foot out of the slums. Most people just recite remarks they've heard from others who are racist themselves.

1 - being a black person was not acceptable for hundreds of years, even into the 70's after the civil rights movement. That's 40 years and many of those still alive who were around at that time dealt with severe racism and many whites from that period are still extreme racists.

Many blacks built this country and many white slave owners build empires on their free labor. Many of these wealthy families exist today, and with proper planning these people will be rich forever. Had it not been for the free labor they acquired by owning slaves they would not have been so prosperous. These families will pass their wealth down for generations as they have done.

Another thing - people claim that "less qualified people" get jobs because they are black. This is not true. In all affirmative action cases, the person is equally qualified. A less qualified person will not get a job because of their skin tone.

3 - There are many racists today who will not hire blacks at all. I have worked for people like these. A black person would come in and as soon as he would walk out the owner would make a racist comment and throw his application into the trash. This is called covert racism. Put an equal opportunity term on an application but in reality they are not treated fairly.

I'm talking about ethics. Ethically affirmative action has a solid foundation which is why it was implemented in the first place.

I do not see any which way that you can twist it so that it is "reverse racism." I don't understand how it is reverse racism at all.

 

[quote=salsanchezfan;10466904]I don't know what he did that a government should forgive his ignorance of taxes........they wouldn't have forgiven anyone else for such a transgression, nor would anyone have questioned if it was right or not.

I feel bad for him, and Louis is one of my favorite fighters, but how far should one carry hero-worship? He made bad decisions, and felt the after-effects. It happens.[/quote]



Defending the World Heavyweight Title twice for training expenses seems a pretty good start.
Being in service and giving 1,000's of exhibitions all over the world for 4 years, helps too imo.Add the amount of war bonds he sold, and rallies and war drives he supported, I think an accomodation could reasonably have been made.